Ultimate Trainer Challenge: Spirts of the Estate
by Galefire
Summary: Fifteen of the worlds best trainers must compete against each other in a series of tests that will not only prove they have the strongest Pokèmon, but also the bond that ties the two together. But between strange activity, awakward situations and just plain weirdness, it's not as easy as it seems. The Ultimate Trainer Challenge is about to unfold: Let the games, begin. OLD.
1. Chapter 1: Introduction

**Hello everyone and welcome to my newest story. **

**This one will have all the playable characters in the Pokèmon games (besides the orginal Crystal version girl character) and there rivals (besides Bianca). So, I hope you enjoy!**

**Just as a note, the characters are not based off there Manga forms.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokèmon...**

**Yet.**

"Come on Mudkip!" You can do it!" A fairly short boy with white hair called, addressing his small blue Pokèmon.

The Mudkip skidded to a stop, it's small black eyes focused on the Zigzagoon before it. The battle was almost done, all he had to do was finish it off.

"Water gun! Go!"

The blue creature's mouth swelled up full, water dripping out a bit, and shot it in one powerful beam towards his foe. Unfortunately, it's aim was far from accurate, and the water ending up hitting the tree located 2 meters away from his mark.

The boy, who went by the name of Brendan, flinched a little. He really thought Mudkip had had it this time! They had spent days training on that, but yet his Pokèmon still was unable to hit a moving target.

The Zigzagoon took the trainer momentary pause to it's advantage. Bunching up its legs, the small brown Pokèmon threw itself at its opponent, hitting in squarely in the chest.

Mudkip flew through the air, letting out a terrified cry. It hit the ground with a sickening thud.

"Mudkip!" Brendan cried, his eyes wide with panic. "Are you okay?"

"Mud..." The Pokèmon moaned, slowly rising to his feet. With a sudden burst of energy, it leaped up confidently. "Kip!"

"Great job! Now, use Tackle!"

The blue creature ran towards the Zigzagoon, determination flowing off it in waves. It smashed head on into it's foe, sending it skidding and bringing up a huge cloud of dust.

The white haired boy shielded his face with one arm, green eyes twinkling with nervousness.

"Come on!" He begged. "Please!"

Slowly, the dust cleared, reveiling the collapsed form of the Zigzagoon, and the barely standing one of Brendan's Mudkip.

The trainers face exploded with joy, and he was literally leaping out of pure happiness.

"You did it!" He exclaimed, running over and scooping his Pokèmon up in his arms.

The Mudkip smiled up at him, but his eyes were sad.

Brendan gave it a supportive nudge. "Don't worry about the Water Gun incident. That's what training's for you'll get it soon, I promise!"

The Pokemon leaned in and gave it's trainer a little lick, it's expression brimming with pride. The white haired boy laughed and set the Mudkip onto his shoulder.

"Come on," He grinned, "Let's go rest up at the Pokèmon centre."

"Mudkip!"

Just as Brendan set out in the direction of Oldale town a voice called put from behind him.

"Hey, wait!"

The whited haired trainer spun around, his green eyes full of nervousness.

Behind him stood a tall man with short brown hair that was cut neatly and gelled to perfection. His eyes were covered by a thick pair of sunglasses and he was clad in a new-looking Tuxedo.

"Greeting Brendan," The man said warmly. "My name is Mr. Rohna, but you may call me San."

Brendan cowered a little. "H-how do you know my name?"

San smiled in a friendly manner. "You're the son of Norman, the Petalburg gym leader, who also happens to be a friend of mine. So I'm very familer with you."

The white haired boy kicked the ground nervously, head down.

Mr. Rohna's grin became awkward, almost forced.

'I know Norman said his son was shy,' He thought, 'But this is a lot more then I was expecting.' The man instinctively checked his watch. 'I'm running out of time, better hurry this up.'

"Have you ever considered entering a tournament?"

The boy looked up. "W-well, yes. But I'm going to have to wait until I'm a little stronger." He held his Mudkip tighter.

"Maybe not." San told him smartly.

"H-huh?"

"That's what I'm here for. I'm inviting you to a global tornament between trainers. It will test not only the strength of the Pokèmon, but also the Trainers commitment and bond."

Brendan cocked his head a little, interested.

Mr. Rohna cleared his throat before continuing. "The Pokèmon will all be in the same league as yours, but that doesn't mean it won't be difficult. Tests will go beyond battling, we will be searching for power in emotions, thoughts and connections between partners. There is much more, but I'm afraid I can't give any more details until you arrive at the designated area. So, will you consider joining?"

The boy's eyes were thoughtful. "I-I don't know. It sounds like fun but..." He cast a glance at his Pokèmon. "I just don't know..."

"You don't have to decide now," San told him. "You can come with me to the island, hear all the information, meet all the contestants, and then decide."

"Well..." Brendan glanced at his Mudkip again. It nodded enthusiastically. "Okay." His expression was filled with new confidence. "I'll give it a try."

San broke out into another wide grin. "Thank you!"

He moved closer towards the boy. "Now, grab onto my arm."

The boy did as he was told. San could feel him shaking through his clothes, alarming him a little.

'He's going to get destroyed in this tornament if he can't gain some courage.' The man thought.

He shook his head to clear the thoughts.

"Now, this might be a little nerve racking at first, and I highly recommend you close your eyes.

Brendan looked up fearfully. "W-what are you going to do?"

"It's better I tell you after." San warned. "Now please, close your eyes."

The boy obeyed reluctantly.

As soon as his eyes were closed, he felt the arm he was holding move, closely followed by a small click and was then consumed by a white light, that shone red though his closed eyelids.

It took all of his courage not to scream. His body felt weightless, and a sense of lightheadedness started to come through. The boy felt his Mudkip squirm in discomfort on his right shoulder.

Thankfully, as soon as it had began, it was over.

Bredan stumbled as he felt new land beneath his feet. Slowly, he peeled his eyes open, gasping loudly at what he saw.

"Wh- where are we?" He asked, amazed.

"Mudkip! Mudkip!" His Pokèmon cried, looking annoyed.

Mr. Rohna crossed his arms. "You're on Westbuyer Island. This is where the tornament will be taking place."

The boy still looked confused. "How did we get here so fast?"

"Connection rings," San held up his hand. Upon it, there was a dark purple ring with a gold base. It seemed to pulse with a strange energy.

Brendan blinked, not fully understanding, but decided to let it go. Now that he was almost fully settled, he took another look around.

The island was extreamly vast. Trees grew thickly in every direction besides the south, which was taken up by a massive building. The shores of the sea were rocky, with little sand, and they water was an ugly grey color, reflecting the sky. An eerie green glow poured out from the windows of the mansion, matching perfectly with the rotting shingles and walls. The entire thing was dull brown, besides the roof, which was slightly darker.

All in all, it looked terrible.

"Is that where we're going to be staying?" The white haired trainer asked shyly.

The man nodded.

Brendan felt himself go cold. "Great."

Mr. Rohna said nothing, and instead began walking towards the building, gesturing for the boy to follow him.

"There will be about 14 other contestants compeating, all fairly experienced trainers." San told the young trainer as he caught up to him. "Your going to need to have some pretty sharp skills if you want to win this thing."

"Win it?" Brendan questioned. "I'm not even sure if I'm going to be in it!"

Upon arriving, the brown-haired man suddenly cut in front of the boy, holding his hand out.

"I'm sorry, but contest rules say you're only allowed to have your starter with you. I will have to take any others off your hands."

Brendan grabbed onto the one Pokèball strung onto his belt protectively, green eyes wide with fear.

Mr. Rohna grabbed onto the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry. They'll be put under the care if a well known Daycare, and shall be guarded excessively. Your Pokèmon are in no danger."

The young trainer held out the ball. "You promise they'll take good care of Shroomish?"

The man nodded, taking the Pokèball from the boy's hand. "I promise."

Shaking ever so slightly with fear, the boys took his first steps into the mansion. The inside was far different from the outside: velvet red carpets covered the well polished wodden Floors, the freshly painted walls were adorned with some of the most brilliant pieces if artwork the boy had ever seen and a beautiful chandelier hung from the bright ceiling, warming up the entire hallway.

"Wow," Was all Brendan could say as he inspected the room before him.

"Mud!" His Pokèmon agreed.

"The other contestants are in the room straight ahead of you." San told him, nodding towards the end of the hallway. "Now is the time to get to know them."

Brendan's legs felt like jelly as he walked towards the main room. What kind of people were the other contestants like? We're they nice? Would he just simply be ignored? The boy couldn't stop the questions from running through his head.

'There's only one way to find out,' He thought as he entered the room.

14 pairs of eyes turned to face him.

Brendan felt his face grow hot. "What do I say?" He whispered to San.

"Nothing. There'll be plenty of time for introductions soon. You're the last arrival."

"Lyra," Brendan heard a young looking boy with black hair whisper. "Is that the last contestant?"

"Quiet Gold! I think Mr. Rohna needs to speak!" The girl known as Lyra hissed back.

She was right. San coughed a little before beginning his speech.

"Contestants," He addressed them. "Meet your newest member. He, and all the others in this room will be joining you for the next while. It would be a good idea to get to know him."

Whispers spread out throughout the room. Brendan felt his blush grow redder.

"You may sit next to May," Mr. Rohna instructed, pointing to a brown haired girl with a red bandana.

His words hit the boy like a brick wall. "May's here?" He gaped.

San nodded. "She was one of the first ones to arrive."

Still in a daze, Brendan started to make his way towards her, only to be stopped by an annoyed looking blond kid.

"Dude," The boy hissed, irritation edging his voice, "Do you know how long you kept us waiting?"

"Um..." The whites haired trained backed up a little.

"Couldn't think to hurry it up could you?"

Suddenly, an older looking boy with blue-ish hair and a large red cap grabbed the other kid by his collar.

"Barry," He said in an even tone. "It's not his fault, settle down already."

The kid named Barry crossed his arms, huffing.

"Sorry about that," The older boy apologized as he dragged his friend away. "He gets a little impatient sometimes."

"I do not!"

Brendan sighed. Thirty seconds he'd been here and he already had someone mad at him. Shrugging off the downcast feeling, he headed towards where May was sitting.

His childhood friend was busy grooming her first Pokèmon, a female Torchic, when he arrived, so she hadn't noticed him at all.

"Erm, hi May," He greeted nervously.

The brunette looked up in surprise. "Brendan? You're here too?"

He nodded slowly. "I had the same reaction when I found out about you."

May raised a hand to her forehead. "This is getting weird. First Wally, and now you? That's two people I know in a world-wide competition."

"Wally's here?!" Brendan couldn't belive his ears.

"Indeed I am," Came a voice from beside May.

The young trainer turned around in shock. Sure enough, there was his good friend Wally, sitting casually with a Ralts on his lap and a Treeko on his shoulder.

"I thought you weren't aloud to have other Pokèmon besides registered starters," Brendan commented, staring at the Ralts in confusion.

Wally shrugged. "You're not. However, I refused to enter without Ralts by my side, so they made an exception. He's not aloud to compete, however."

The other trainer nodded, understanding.

Branden was just about to ask the two of them how they had got here when something, or someone caught his eyes.

From across the room sat a tall boy with spiky black hair half hidden under a red cap. The hat casted shadows across the higher parts of his face, so only his cold, red eyes were visable. Something about this boy gave the younger trainer the chills. He just seemed so... dark.

"Yo, Brendan?" May asked, waving her hand in front of his face. "You still in there?"

Brendan snapped back to reality.

"May?" He questioned.

"Yes?"

Brendan pointed a finger at the boy. Do you know who he is?"

His friend studied the trainer for a long time, before shrugging.

"Can't say I do. Then again, you and Wally are the only ones in the room I actually know."

"May I have your attention please." San's voice rang out from the door way.

The chatting fell silent imidiantly as all eyes turned to him.

"Now that you all seemed settled in I think it's about time you introduced yourselves." Mr. Rohna told them. "We'll start with Lyra and go on down the line." He nodded towards a brown-haired girl with a white cap.

The girl stood up and cleared her throat. "Hello, my name is Lyra, as you problably know. I was the best trainer to ever come out of my hometown-"

"Was not." A red haired boy muttered.

"-And I have a feeling I'm going to be the best out of you all."

Her brown eyes were peircing, studying every person in the room as if she was choosing who would be easy to beat and who might get in her way.

In one swift motion, the girl named Lyra picked up a small green Pokèmon that had been sitting next to her. "This is my partner, Chickorita. She's one feisty creature and is sure to beat anyone who dares to try and stop us from archiving our goals." And with that, the girl sat down.

Next up was they boy with black hair.

"My name's Gold!" He exclaimed, shooting up from his seat. "I come from the same place as Lyra, and I was the second best to ever come from our town!"

Brendan couldn't help but smile a little a the kid's enthusiasm. He seemed to be quite a but younger the the rest of them here.

'Maybe this won't be so bad.' He thought.

Looking around the room, the white-haired trainer could see that none of the others had the look of general concern some of them had had when Lyra had spoken. Gold had been voted an easy target right off the bat, and Brendan could only hope he proved them wrong.

Gold the showed his Pokèmon. It was a male Cyndaquil who kept hiding behind his trainer back.

A timid nature. Not a good sign for Gold either.

The red haired boy was up. With a bored sigh, he grabbed his Pokèmon and rose to his feet.

"My name is Silver, yada yada yada, this is Totadile. He has an adamant nature and isn't afraid to cause damage." He glared at the crowd. "I recommend you stay out of our way."

That left most the trainers in shock. Another trainer with odvious talent. You could tell just by the way them and their Pokèmon carried themselves. This wasn't going to be easy.

Following Silver was a girl named Dawn. She was from the Sinnoh region and had traveled all across it.

"And this is Piplup." She smiled sweetly as she held up the small blue penguin. "Most the time, she's a little sweetheart, but when in battle, she's as deadly as a hurricane." Dawn finished as she sat down again.

Beside her, the same blue-ish haired kid stood up.

"My name is Lucas. I have spent most my life working with the world-class professor, Professor Rowan. Thus, I am quite knowledgeable of the advanced battle mechanics. My partner, Turtwig, follows mostly strategic based attack formations, but if he catches any sigh of inappropriate behavior regarding to the standered set of rules, he's not one of which you'd want to befriend."

There was a pause.

"What?" Gold asked, looking stumped.

Lyra rolled her eyes.

Next was the kid Brenden had met earlier, otherwise known as Barry.

"My names is Barry, as most you know," He said in the fastest voice Brendan had ever heard. "I am skilled at everything revolving around Pokèmon and I have never, ever lost a battle."

Lucas snorted.

Barry pretended not to notice. "My friend Chimchar, will set fire to all your Pokèmon! Yes, even the water ones. He can do that, because I taught him how to!"

The Unova ones went by fast. There was a boy named Black who owned an Oshawott, and Girl named White with a Tepig and another boy named Cheren with a Snivy.

All of them seemed potentially dangerous.

Now it was May's turn.

With a confident smile, she rose from her seat on the coach.

"Hello, my name is May. I am the daughter of Professor Birch and am the proud owner of a Torchic! Torchic may not seem like much, but she's got some tricks up her sleeves, not to mention her secret ability." She sat back down.

Brendan's eyes widened when he realized who's turn it was. Trying to keep himself from shaking, he slowly got up.

"H-hi! My name is B-Brendan and I come from Littleroot town." The trainer grinned nervously. "My partner is a Mudkip, he can, um..." He trailed off. "Umm, he- he can, Uhh..."

Everyone in the room started to talk among themselves.

'Think of something quick!' He told himself.

"Beat all your Pokèmon in one hit !" Brendan finished, collapsing back onto the couch.

He didn't even have to look up to tell that the others weren't impressed.

Wally's introduction went, well, as expected. He was nervous, but didn't fail as a badly as Brendan did. All he really did was explain why he had his Ralts and introduce his usable Pokèmon, Treeko.

That only left the three Kanto trainers, probably the oldest of them all. The first one to stand up was a spiky-haired kid with a strange looking grass-type Pokèmon resting on his shoulder.

"My name is Gary," He put simply, "And this is Bulbasaur. And let me tell you, we don't take losing easily. Nor do we lose easily. So if you want to have even a chance to make it anywhere in this competition, I suggest you stay out of our way."

Next was the brown-haired girl sitting next to him. She introduced herself as Leaf and her partner as the water-type Squirtle. That only left the red-eyed boy Brendan had stopped earlier.

He stood up without a sound, his face expressionless.

"My name is Red. This is Charmander." Red told them in a dark monotone, before sitting down again.

The group broke into whispers. With no established goals or personality, Res could either be the most fierce opponent, or the easiest foe. Despite how short his words had been, they had had the most impact by far.

"What kind of greeting is that?" May snorted from beside Brendan. "We don't even know who he is."

"Maybe that's what he wants." Wally murmered thoughtfully.

The brown haired girl cast him a curious glance, but before she could ask anything San spoke up again.

"Great. Now that you're all familer with eachother, well, somewhat," He cast Red a look, "It's time to explain the rules."

He coughed to clear his throat before moving on.

"First off, you may not keep your Pokèmon in their Pokèballs. I'll have to confiscate them when you all agree to join."

Annoyed outbursts met this statement, but Mr. Rohna lifted his hands to silence them.

"Next, as I've already explained, you may not have any other Pokèmon then the official starters, however, evolution is allowed."

"Then why couldn't I bring my Charizard?" Brendan jumped as Red spoke. "It's an evolution of a starter Pokèmon."

San cast the trainer a knowing look. "Because nobody else would stand a chance if you had it here."

'He has a Charizard?' The white haired trainer thought in surprise.

"Moving on," San continued. "If you leave this house at anytime, other then to go to the backyard, you are out of the challenge. Same goes for if your Pokémon leave, excluding Wally's Ralts."

Mr. Ronha looked around the room. Nobody spoke this time.

San smiled to himself a little. "Now that the restriction have been explained, let me tell you how this all is going to work. The winner will be determined by how many points they have by the end. You can get points by beating others in challenge, and at times, only completing them can win you some. These 'challenges' will test not just the physical strength of your Pokèmon, but also the friendship you and them share and how you react to change."

Barry sighed. "You already told us that!"

"Clam it, Barry!" Lucas jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow.

The man's speech went on. "Now, before you decide if you shall compete in all this, I must explain the risks you'll be taking by joining."

Brendan's heart stopped. Risks?

"Pokèmon my spontaneously appear in this house, and some might, how should I put this, cause some trouble. Other's can be extreamly dangerous, and without the best Pokèmon to defend you, you can get severely injured."

Everyone in the room looked surprised at this, aside from Red, who just stared right on through.

"There are some medical supplies in here, but no doctor. There's also a healing machine, however, it'll only work for Pokèmon. If anything sever happens, your only choice is to leave to building, thus leaving the competition."

San paused for dramatic effect.

"Now, does anybody not want to compete?"

Gold shifted in his seat, but made no move. Dawn bit her lip. The male Unova trainer looked a tad flustered, but too remained still.

Brendan was considering speaking up.

'I can't risk Mudkip getting hurt,' He thought. 'He's so young.'

However, when he looked into the blue Pokèmon's eyes, the young boy could tell that he wanted to do this, no matter the risk. He cast a glance at May. His friend nodded encouragly.

'Alright,' He thought. 'I'll give this I try.'

San grinned at the trainers desisions. "Then let the games begin."

**A/N: In case of confusion, let me explain something. **

**In the hard copy of this chapter, Gold, Black, and White were referred to as Ethan, Hilbert and Hilda, so despite my several proof-readings, they may still appear with those names. Also, Cheren was orginally going to be N, but then I realized that made no sense, because N doesn't support Pokèmon battling. I hope that explains any inconsistencies. **

**Your problably wondering, why are the starters in first form. And I would answer, to be original. I haven't seen a story revolving around a tournament where all the Pokèmon are first form. **

**Anyways, reviews are VERY, VERY much appreciated. They help inspire me. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**~*Galefire*~**


	2. Chapter 2: Exploration

**I. Am. Back. **

**So before we begin this chapter, I would like to address a few things. **

**First of, what the heck was wrong with me when I wrote the first chapter? Seriously, my proof-reading was terrible. I'll try to do better on this one. **

**Also, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed? I means a lot to me. **

**A lot. **

**A LOT. **

**A. freaking. lot. **

**Okay, I'm done. **

**Disclaimer: Look, if I owned Pokèmon, why would I be writing a fanfiction for this? I'd be making this into a game, or an anime or a manga, not a Fanfiction. So no, despite not-so-commen belief, I do not own Pokèmon.**

Gold's POV.

Gold crossed his arms and groaned loudly. Five minutes he'd been here and he was already bored out of his mind! After saying that ridiculously cheesy line, 'let the game's begin!' (seriously, was this the Huger Games or something?), that creepy 'San' guy had just left! Seriously, he didn't even tell them what they should do next!

"Talk about obnoxious," He muttered under his breath.

After that, he and Barry had tried to strike up some conversation, but the others would only reply with some nods and the occasional grunt, so they eventually gave up. The competitors were odviously looking over all that Mr. Rohna had told them.

Unable to take it anymore, Gold turned to Lyra.

"Hey," He whispered.

The girl cast him a glance, but remained silent.

"Are we going to do something?"

"Quiet Gold, I'm thinking!" She silenced him in a low tone, as not to distract the others.

"But I'm bored!"

"You're always bored!"

The black haired trainer narrowed his eyes at her, something he rarely ever did. "Look, we just got thrown into some old mansion thingy, sitting here and thinking isn't going to get anything done! The least we could do is explore or something!"

The girl sighed. "Fine." Standing up from her seat, Lyra raised her voice a bit to address the assembled trainers.

"I've been thinking," She started.

Gold looked annoyed. "_You've_ been thinking?!"

"Sitting here isn't going to get anything done. I suggest we take a look around."

The young trainer rolled his eyes at her annoying habit of practically quoting him, but at the same time was over-all glad she was actually listening to him.

Cheren adjusted his glasses thoughtfully. "Sounds like a good idea to me. We're going to need a place to sleep for the many nights we're all going to be here."

Beside him, White nodded eagerly. "I was hoping we'd do something relatively exiting today!"

"Then it's settled." Cheren concluded with a small shake of his head. "We should split into groups of two and head to the seperate coordinates of the area to maximize our ground-coverage."

"Hey!" Gold exclaimed, "Who put you in charge?!"

Ignoring her friend's protests, Lyra nodded in agreement. "Dawn, Leaf, Gary, Silver, May and Wally will go with you," She gestured towards the black haired boy. "You cover the East wing. The rest can come me, and we'll take the West."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" An impatient voice rang out from beside the doorway.

Everybody looked over in surprise to see the blonde trainer standing by the exit of the room, tapping his foot.

Dawn's eyes widened in shock as she looked at the place Barry had been sitting just a few moments ago. "How did you-?"

The blond boy opened his mouth, problably to answer with some snarky remark, but suddenly snapped his head towards the opening he was standing infront of.

"Did you guys just see that?" He asked, peering into the darkness.

Lyra raised an eyebrow. "See... What?"

Barry stared at her for a second, before he sprinted into the shadowed hallway.

"Hey? What are you doing?" Gold yelled, running in after him.

He was stopped in his tracks when Lyra grabbed the back of his jacket. He flipped around, eyes confused. The girl shook her head at him.

"Believe it or not, I think he knows what he's doing." She told him as she walked into the hallway.

Lyra's group consisted of herself, Gold, Black, White, Brendan, Lucas, Barry and Red, a fairly large team considering they were only looking through some old house.

The first room they entered was the kitchen. It, like the other room they had just been in, was a gorgeous, well furnished area. All the nesassary appliances covered the wall to the left, and the other one was almost completely concealed under a collection of shelves, which Barry was already rooting through.

Black shrugged and opened the fridge door, eyes curious.

"Anything edible in there?" White asked.

The brown haired trainer recoiled a bit in disgust. "If you consider this edible." He commented, withdrawing an old sock.

Everyone blinked in surprise.

"Are you sure anything in there's safe to eat?" Brendan sounded a bit nervous. "I mean, as much as I love the taste of dirty foot-wear..."

Black laughed in a friendly way. "It's fine, everything else seems safe. It was problably just some prank."

Meanwhile, Lucas had found the area where they kept the cookbooks and was rooting through them, Lyra was testing the stove and Microwave to see if they worked, Red was leaning against a wall, face completely hidden, and Brendan was standing in the middle of the room, clutching Mudkip and looking a little lost.

"Cans, cans, cans," Barry sighed, tossing the contents of the shelves over his shoulder, which Chimchar skillfully caught. "Wow, look at this, more cans. Geez, these cans are amazing. You know what we need in this situation? More cans. God I love can- Holy crap!" The trainer's sarcastic frown was replaced by a look of pure joy. "We've got Ravioli!"

"Really?" Gold asked excitedly, running towards the other boy. Looking down upon the label, he learned that they did, in fact, have Ravioli.

This was the best day ever.

"What would we do without Ravioli?" Lyra smirked with a roll of her eyes.

"Chika!" Her Pokemon agreed.

It took a lot of convincing to get the boys to put the can of pasta down, and even more to tell them that putting an old sock in the microwave and turning it up full heat was NOT a good idea. But thankfully, the two finally agreed and the group was able to move on.

"Looks like this is where the bedrooms are." Lyra commented as they reached a hallroom with many passages leading off it. This area was a lot darker in shade then the others, and had an almost eerie feeling. A single chandelier hung as the room's only light, swinging back and forth by some unknown force. Just as the members of the group entered the area they could feel the air become much, much colder.

"Creepy," Black muttered, suddering from the chilly climate.

White elbowed him playfully. "You're not scared of ghosts, are you?"

"O-of course not!"

Lyra looked around. "There seem to be five rooms in total. You three," She pointed to White, Black and Red, "Can take the ones on the left. Me and Lucas will explore the other two. Understood?"

"Wait!" Gold interrupted. "What do I do?"

"Yeah, you didn't give me a job either! Or Brendan!" Barry protested.

Lyra waved them off. "San told us we couldn't catch any Pokemon, which implies that there are some living in here. He also told us that there's a good possibility we could get hurt, So I imagine they'd be fairly strong. And I would rather NOT have a Salamance get me from behind thank you."

The black haired boy looked unimpressed. "So, we're on guard duty?"

The brown haired girl nodded before walking off, the others following her to their designated areas.

Gold frowned a little. Knowing Lyra, it could take forever for her to get out of there. She'd want to check every nook and cranny, memorizing practically everything the room held.

'Maybe a conversation will help time go faster.' He thought.

"Hey Brendan."

"Hmm?" The white haired boy grunted, looking out for Salamences.

"What's up with your hair?" Gold asked, using the first question that popped into his head.

"W-what do you mean?" Brendan stammered, holding his hair protectively.

"Mudkip! Mud!" The blue creature protested angerly.

"Yeah, it's all white. Did you dye it or something?"

The other trainer looked flustered. "N-no!"

Barry looked curious. "Really? So it's a wig?"

Just as Brendan turned around to respond, his Mudkip let out a growl and spat out a huge glob of mud...

Right onto Barry's scarf.

Gold and Brendan stared, wide eyed, as the blonde haired individual's expression changed from thoughtful to angry.

This wasn't good.

"Do you know how much that cost?!" Barry snapped, cornering the other trainer.

"5 bucks?" Gold muttered.

"N-n-no..." The white haired boy responded fearfully.

"200, no 400- wait... No..." He stopped to think for a moment.

Gold exchanged a glance with Cyndaquil and shrugged.

Barry started talking again. "It cost 756.553... Nevermind, screw numbers! All I'm saying is you owe me!"

The blue creature almost snarled. Leaping from its trainer's arms, the Mudkip snatched the scarf off of the blonde boy's neck and ran down the hall, grinning.

"Wait, come back!" Brendan exclaimed, chasing after his Pokemon.

Thankfully, Mudkip isn't the fastest Pokemon ever, so its trainer had no problem catching up with it.

"Could you please let go?" He asked, standing in front of it.

The small creature turned its back on him.

"Mud!"

Brendan frowned, eyes nervous. Slowly, he grabbed the other end of the scarf.

"Mudkip, I really need you to let go now!" The trainer started tugging on on it.

"Mudkip!" The Pokemon pulled back.

"Mudkip! Listen to me!"

"Kip!"

"Mud-"

"Kip!" The Mudkip interrupted, giving the scarf a good twist.

A loud 'rip!' echoed through the hallway as the cloth was torn in two. Barry could only stare, mouth agape, at the remains of his scarf.

Suddenly, The white haired trainer's eyes narrowed, his expression becoming fierce.

"Mudkip!" He raised his voice sternly, glaring down at the tiny creature.

The Mudkip shrunk a little as Brendan leaned in.

"You should be ashamed of yourself! Ruining Barry's scarf like that! Have I not taught you anything?"

"Mud... Mudkip-kip... Mud..." The Pokemon hung his head in shame.

"Now I want you to apologize right now, or you are going to get the longest time-out of your life, mister! Do I make myself clear?"

The Mudkip didn't respond.

It's trainers glare intensified. "Well?"

It nodded.

Brendan beamed and scooped it up into his arms.

"That's a good boy! See, being nice pays off!" he commented as he walked back to where the other two were stading.

Gold's eye twitched slightly. What the heck just happened?

Once again, Brendan changed back to looking nervous. "Erm, sorry..." He hardly whispered as he handed the tattered peices of cloth back to Barry.

"Mudkip." Mudkip agreed.

Barry shook the shocked look of his face.

"That scarf was the only thing that marks me as a Sinnoh trainer!" He retorted angerly.

"You mean other then the ridiculous hairstyle?" Gold commented.

His remark was, once again, ignored.

"That's it pay up!" The blonde trainer pointed a finger at the Mudkip. "You owe me big time!"

"Umm, Barry?" The white haired trainer asked, shifting awkwardly, "You do know you're talking to a Mudkip, right?"

The Pokemon stuck its tongue out.

Barry didn't even hesitate. Standing tall to face the other trainer, he yelled: "I know! And unless you happen to have an emerald green silk scarf that's 18 cm wide, 50 cm long and 1 cm thick, I'm going to have to sue you!"

Behind the two, the black haired trainer facepalmed, his Pokemon doing the same.

"Cynda, Cyndaquil." It sighed.

Gold nodded in agreement.

Brendan blinked, his expression blank, before he broke out into a smile.

"Actually, I think I do!" He exclaimed, rooting through his bag. "Ruby, made it for me! Well, kind of. It was supposed to be for his 'Mimi" but it didn't quite fit her, and he said it covered up her pearlescent scales. I thought it looked alright..." The trainer shrugged as he produced an almost identical scarf and handed it to Barry.

The trainer was speechless as he tried the cloth around his neck. It would take the trained eye to notice any difference.

There was an awakward pause.

Suddenly, Black burst through the door next to them, gasping for breath and looking terrified. From behind him, Oshawott followed, laughing hard.

"That... wasn't... funny, Osha!" Black gasped, giving the Pokemon a look.

"Osha! Oshawott!" It giggled happily.

The brown haired trainer sighed. "You know I was already jumpy from that stain-"

"What stain?" Barry cut in.

Black jumped at least ten feet in the air. Even his Pokemon flinched a bit.

"Oh it's just you." He looked relieved. "I forgot Lyra assigned you to guard duty."

The blonde boy tapped his foot, gaze unwavering.

"Look, I'll tell you about it when everybody arrives, okay?"

Barry looked annoyed at the fact that he was, once again, going to have to wait for something, but didn't protest.

Black raised an eyebrow. "Hey, I though only you three were supposed to be guarding us!"

"What are you talking about? There are only three of us!" Gold questioned.

"Then what's Red doing here?"

The three boys spun around in surprise and came face to face with the red eyed individual. Half his face was shaded over by his hat, while the other was set with a dull scowl and an eerie crimson glow...

Brendan let out a loud scream that was imidiatly muffled by Gold's hand slapping over his mouth. Red didn't react.

"S-so Red, what are you doing here?" He asked nervously.

No answer. The black haired trainer just stared right on through.

"Hey, how come we didn't here you coming?" Barry confronted him. "How are we supposed to know you're the real thing?"

"Well what do you think he is?" Gold snorted. "A _ghost_?"

A smirk flashed across the older trainer's face.

"Heheheh..." He laughed quietly.

"Are you alright?" Black asked, concerned.

Brendan mumbled something inaudible.

Red's head shot up, his hat lifting to fully reveal his face. Clouded, purple irises floated in dark grey eyes, and sooty black hair fell dirty and bloodstained down the trainer's forehead. His grin was nothing but pure evil, like a look a phycopath would give you as he sunk a knife deep into your chest, staining that moment in time an eternal scarlet. He was enjoying there fear, embracing it.

He wanted more.

Gold felt his heart stop, blood turning to ice.

"Red, this isn't funny!" The blonde trainer snapped from beside him.

"Barry."

The two boys met eyes.

the black haired trainer swallowed. "He isn't joking."

**I'll leave it there. **

**Heh, sorry for the late update. I had trouble finding motivation. Also, I got a new copy of the Legand of Zelda: Twilight Princess, so I was playing that for the longest time. **

**Moving on, does anyone have a suggestion for who I should base the next chapter off of? It can be any of the fifteen, besides Red (for now). I know I've done a terrible job of organizing the screen time, as Leaf hasn't even had a line yet. But, I'll try to fix that.**

**Thank you all very much for reading, and if you could leave a review, that would be very much appreciated. **

**Thanks!**

**~*Galefire*~**


	3. Chapter 3: Illusion?

**Don't you just love the concept behind Pokemon? Slavery + animal abuse= instant children's game! **

**Erm, anyways, by the end if this chapter every character should of had a least one line. Man, I feel bad for leaving Leaf out like that. I really like her as a character. **

**To the story! **

**Disclaimer: Haven't we gone through this before? No, I don't own Pokemon. At all. In any way. **

The four boys stood, unable to move and hardly able to speak, as the black haired trainer stared them down, eyes unwavering.

"R-Red!" Black shuddered. "P-please, s-sp-speak to us!"

He only laughed cruelly, taking one slow step towards the others.

Cyandaquil let out a terrified sob and leaped into Gold's arms, shivering.

Gold looked up fiercely. "Whatever you're doing you better stop right now! Our Pokemon can easily outnumber yours...?" The boy trailed off when cold realization hit him.

Red's Charmander wasn't anywhere to be seen.

The boy laughed again, this time louder.

"Guys, this isn't Red!" Gold yelled, quickly backing away.

"Huh?" Barry and Black asked at once.

"He doesn't have his Pokemon!"

Suddenly, Red lunged at them, grin manicical. The three boys screamed and ran towards the end of the hall, Brendan frozen in place out of pure fear.

Red's hands latched around the white haired boy's throat, nails digging deep into the fleash, drawing blood. His eyes literally glowed a dark red, and the three other trainers could only watch in horror as he transformed.

The trainer's skin peeled away to reveal the crimson, pulsating flesh beneath. Black hair turned to dull grey and stretched down towards his bony shoulders, knotted and bloodstained. Red's normal attire swiftly changed to a large white dress, vaguely similer to ones hospital patients wore. The only thing that stayed the same was the eyes. Terrifying, scarlet orbs met the emerald green ones of it's prey, radiating hatred and anger. Brendan let out a chocked whimper as curled claws sunk deeper into his neck, grinding against bone.

"W-what is that?" Black managed to gasp.

Barry tried his best to look confident. "Whatever it is, I'm not scared of it!"

"No!" The third trainer held his blonde companion back. "It's too dangerous!"

"But we can't just leave Brendan to die!" Black pointed out.

Gold grit his teeth in frustration.

'Come on! Think!' He yelled inwardly. 'What would Lyra do?'

There was only one option.

"Cyndaquil, flame wheel!"

"Were any of those rooms really necessary?" Gary asked with a sigh, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Seriously, who needs ten bathrooms?"

"Oh stop whining!" Leaf elbowed him sharply.

The spiky haired rival grumbled in response.

Cheren's group had just finished exploring the area they had been assigned to. It wasn't much, really. Just a living room, some bathrooms and the occasional storage room, nothing too exiting.

"That was fairly disappointing." May admitted. "I bet the others got swimming pools and carnival rides or something."

"What goes on inside your head?" Wally quietly wondered aloud.

The girl said nothing in response.

"Judging by the fact that we didn't see anything that resembled sleeping quarters, my guess is the others found the bedrooms." Cheren cut in.

"And the kitchen." Leaf added.

"And rollercoasters."

Everyone stared at her.

May shrugged. "Hey, a girl can dream."

From the back of the group, a sharp voice rose. "Can we stop acting like ignorant children and just meet up with the others?"

"Lighten up Silver!" Leaf told the red haired boy, who huffed indignantly. "We're here to enjoy ourselves, are we not?"

"No." The answer was cold. "I'm here to win and only that. I've spent my entire life trying to prove myself the ultimate trainer, and I'm not going to let it slip away. So enjoy your little games, they won't last long once real life hits you."

The two brunettes glared at the rival as he walked by, expression dark.

"Yeah, well you won't last long when my real fist hits you!" May yelled to him, only to be ignored.

"Settle down," Her green haired friend advised calmly.

The brown haired trainer crossed her arms. "Fine, but only for you, Wally. But I swear, if he so much as thinks of spouting another statement like that, I personally will-"

"Hey, look at this!" Dawn suddenly interrupted. She had been silent for most of the trip, so her to even speak came as a surprise.

Cheren cast a glance over her shoulder, adjusting his glasses to get a better look.

"It's a door," He confirmed. "Seems to be locked."

"Thanks, Cheren, we needed that." Gary rolled his eyes sarcastically.

Ignoring his comment, Cheren walked past the blue-ish haired girl and tested the lock. The door held shut.

"Here, let me try!" Leaf lightly pushed him out of the way.

With firm hands, she turned the knob and gave it a good tug. No use. The brown haired girl tryed a couple more times, before giving up with a sigh of irritation.

"It's problably not important anyway." She shrugged.

The black haired trainer nodded in agreement. "We should be heading back now. The others are most likely waiting for us."

"Sni, Snivy!" His Pokemon agreed.

The team turned around, ready to move on, when suddenly something caught Leaf's attention.

_"It's open_." A voice whispered, sounding remarkably like Dawn.

"What was that?" The brunette asked, casting a side glance to get female companion.

"Hmm?" Dawn looked up from playing with her Piplup.

_"You can come play with me now_." it came again.

Leaf looked around the room in desperation. Who was saying that? Nobody in the room's voice seemed to match it. Then, out of the corner of her eye, a black hole was visible, startling her. The door...

Was open?

The brown haired girl's mouth fell agape, arms dangling by her sides.

"H-how?" She gasped. Regaining her composure, Leaf then said: "Okay, who ever picked that lock, has got to teach me!"

"Picked the lock?" May's face held the same look of surprise. "Leaf, none of us were even near the lock!"

Cheren studied the open frame. "Strange..." He muttered.

"You bet!" Leaf concluded, "Let's go in!"

"Wait!" Gary grabbed her by the arm, causing her to look at him in confusion.

"What now?"

"You think you're going to leave me out of this?"

May smirked confidently. "I'm coming too!"

"I-I guess it'd be alright..." Wally whispered.

Cheren blinked thoughtfully. "Going in could give us a clue for who unlocked the door..."

From behind all them, a snort could be heard.

"Fine, you children go on your little scavenger hunt. I'm going to go meet up with the others!" Silver snarled, turning tail.

Leaf and Dawn exchanged glances.

"What's his problem?" The blue haired girl wondered aloud.

But as the two girls turned around, neither of them heard the thump or the small whimpers of a tiny blue crocodile, nursing the injury it had revived from it's fall.

Silver turned the corner, his expression grim. He knew this wasn't the right way to the meeting area, but at the moment, he couldn't care less. He needed some time alone.

Once checking to make sure he was out of sight, the red headed trainer let out a groan and slid down the wall. His look of anger swiftly replaced by once of extreme pain.

'What's wrong with me?" Silver thought, clutching his head and wincing. "Why do I feel so... Out of it?"

It was true, ever since Leaf had pointed out that stupid door, a head splitting migraine had hit the trainer hard. Strange, unexplainable feelings coursed through him. Whispers, to quiet to tell what they were saying, yet loud enough to tell they were English could be heard at the back of his head. It was getting to him, and he didn't like it.

He didn't even feel like himself anymore!

Silver gripped onto clumps of his hair, fighting back screams of agony as the whispers became louder.

"S-shut up!" He nearly yelled.

The boy almost couldn't believe his ears. Had he just, stuttered?

Something was defiantly wrong.

_"Hurt... Pain... Failure.._." The voice whispered, most words inaudible.

Silver couldn't stop himself, he was trembling.

_"Let me... Take over..." _

"What are you saying?!" He snapped.

"_You're not good enough_." The whisper said, sounding clearer now. "_But I am. Imagine how embarrassing it'll be when you get beaten by Brendan..." _

Silver snorted. "That's not going to happen! I don't care what you say, you're just a stupid voice!"

A chuckle could be heard. "_Oh really? Now what if Gold were to beat you? The word would odviously spread, and you would once again, be a laughing stock. Your parents wouldn't even accept you as there own. All you've ever wanted is to fit in, am I right?"_

The boy pressed his hands firmly against his ears. He didn't want to hear anymore. This thing knew secrets he wouldn't even tell himself! "I'm... Not... Listening!" Why was talking such an effort all the sudden?

_"You're losing, Silver. Just give in to your inner hatred. It's much easier to live when your alone, hmm?" _

Silver tried to stand up, to run, to do anything he needed to leave this trial and never come back, but his legs gave way from beneath him. Collapsing on the ground, he felt one feeling he had never felt before, one that could possibly be his last.

Fear.

Clouds overcast his mind, stopping all thoughts from processing. Numbness soared through the tall trainer. A new darkness had come, and it planned to stay.

Sliver's eyes flashed open, enveloped in an eerie green glow.

"Finally," He rasped. "I can get my revenge."

Gold could only stare, eyes wide with both fear and disbelief, as his Pokemon went flying in his direction, its flames completely put out.

"H-how?!" Black cried.

The creature ahead only smirked. It's grip still tight on Brendan.

From beside him, Barry let out a firce growl, balling his fists.

"I'm not giving up!" He yelled. "Chimchar use ember!"

The small chimp cast him a nervous glance, before nodding. It leaped of it trainer's shoulder, hands enveloped with fire.

"Barry, no!" Gold protested.

Too late. The Fire Pokemon clapped it's hands together, causing small balls of flame to fly in every direction, mainly pointed at the horrying image that stood before them.

The ghost smirked and simply moved the boy it held captive in front of it, shielding the attack. Brendan let out a cry of agony as the flames burned his exposed skin.

There was nothing left.

No ideas, no hope, no nothing.

Was this the end?

'It's useless.' Gold fell down to his knees. 'We didn't even make it past day one. It's over.'

Looking in his companions eyes, he saw the same look of hopelessness.

"No." The blonde boy breathed.

Black simply hung his head in defeat.

The creature's smile widened. It knew it had won. It never lost. Without making a sound, the ghost slowly made its way towards the prey, ready for its meal. Their fear was fresh, fresher then anything it had ever tasted.

This was going to be delicious.

A burst of orange light exploded through the room, causing everybody to jump in surprise. A ball of flame struck the predator from behind, freeing Brendan from it's grasp.

Not wasting a second, The black haired trainer quickly pulled him to where the others stood. Not exactly a safe spot, but a least out of arm reach.

Meanwhile, Barry worked himself into action just as fast.

"Chimchar, flamethrower now!" He commanded.

The Pokemon let out a growl and leaped into the air, fire spewing out of it's hands, landing a criticle hit on the unsuspecting creature.

The thing screamed in agony, body twiching with pain as fire consumed it. Black matter spewed out of it like air from a balloon, the ghost's form fading into nothing. Screams broke through the house, loud and piercing, yet almost soothing as well.

As the sound faded, so did the display.

Gold got up and dusted himself off. They were alive? But how? Who had saved them?

Squinting into the darkness of the entrance, he caught sight of movement.

Apparently, so did Black.

"Hey!" The brown haired boy called. "Who's there?"

There was a moments pause. No footsteps could be heard. For the first time in seemingly hours, everything was silent. Then, with a single step, a figure walked into the light, revealing his identity.

"Red?" The three gasped, staring.

The crimson eyes stared back. Slowly, the older trainer nodded.

"You should be more careful who you trust." He told them darkly.

The words hung in the air for a moment, being processed by the younger trainers horror-filled minds.

"We didn't know that it was going to be a ghost!" Barry protested after a pause.

Red did nothing in response. Instead, he walked up to Brendan's limp form, resting a hand on the smaller boy's neck. His eyes slowly grew dissatisfied, even worried as he checked the younge trainer's pulse.

The three others held their breath. Brendan couldn't seriously be..?

After a moment's wait, the older trainer stood up again.

"He's unconscious, but otherwise seems fine." There was no look of relief on Red's face. Only the same cold monotone.

The same set of feelings didn't go for the others, however. Brendan's Mudkip, who had been huddling desperately in a corner, ran up and imidiantly started licking his trainer ecstatically. Black and Gold looked like a weight had just been lifted off their chests and even Barry grinned in assuagement.

"Thank Arceus!" The brown haired trainer gasped. "A death on the first day is not exactly desirable."

"That's one way to put it." Gold muttered.

They all jumped at the sudden opening of a door, except of Red and Brendan of course.

From the entrance to the right, Lyra emerged, looking fairly happy. Her clothes and hair were covered in dust, but that didn't seem to stunt her mood. What did, however, was the scene that was portrayed before her.

The brown haired girl's expression was replaced by one of confusion and surprise as she caught sight of her teammates. Brendan was slumped limply against a wall, his arm heavily burned and blood staining his shirt. Barry, Gold and Black stood pale faced and shaking slightly while Red was lifting his Charmander into his arms, praising it quietly for a job well done. Not to mention there was a giant scorch mark in the middle of the room.

"Okay," She sighed, face falling. "What happened here?"

Brendan let out a hiss of pain as the cloth was pressed against his burn wounds, triggering the sting.

"It's okay," Lyra soothed, "I'm almost done."

The group had arrived back at main area, where the other group had still yet to arrive. White was spread across one of the couches, a disbelieving look on her face, while Lucas sat on the other end, desperately leafing through one of his books. Barry, Gold and Black sat silently, all looking lost in thought. Meanwhile, Red was leaning on one of the walls, his hat tipped down to cover his face.

Lyra tied the cloth around the white haired boy's arm, making sure it held firm.

As she sat back to admire her handiwork, the girl asked, "Can you move it?"

Brendan gave him arm a quick swing, only to yelp in pain and withdraw it imidiantly.

"S-sort of." He chocked through clenched teeth.

Lyra nodded in understanding, and got up from off the floor. She stood above the other three trainers who had been involved in the incident, her gaze hard.

"So let me get this straight," She said slowly. "You three are telling me a ghost did this?"

They nodded quickly.

The brown haired girl sighed. "Guys, you know this isn't a time to be fooling around."

Gold did a double take. "Fooling around!" He spat. "We're telling you the truth!"

"I don't see how that makes any sense." Lucas spoke, not looking up from his book. "It says here that this mansion was made for a competition many years ago, but was never actually used until now because of it constantly being postponed." He cast a glance over to the others. "And if what I hear is true, ghosts only haunt the areas they either die in or lived in."

White groaned in annoyance. "Please don't tell me you belive in all this ghost crap as well, Lucas."

He blushed a bit. "Well, it hasn't been proved wrong..."

Barry slammed his hands onto a nearby table. "And we just proved it right! I don't know why this is so difficult to understand!"

White snorted. "I don't believe in ghosts."

"Yeah, well you do now!" The blonde trainer shouted.

"Chim! Chimchar!"

The girl stood up from her seat. "You don't chose what I do and don't believe in!"

"Guess what? I just did!"

"Then believe this!" The girl shouted, and lunged at him.

Her brother quickly shot out of his seat and caughted her around the arms, holding her back.

"Let it go, White!" He told her.

White struggled in Black's grasp one last time before giving up.

"Fine." She huffed. "But one more word out of HIM," She shot a glare at Barry, "and someone's going to get hurt."

"Yeah, you." He mumbled.

"WHAT DID YOU SA-"

"QUIET!" Lyra interrupted. "Look, we didn't come here to argue. Now, I need you guys to tell the truth. If I don't know where Brendan's cuts came from, he could catch an infection or a disease because of it."

"D-disease?" Came Brendan's terrified response.

"I'm telling you," Gold forced his temper down. "We're not lying! A ghost attacked us! We all would of died if it weren't for Red!"

The brown haired girl turned her attention to Red, who had been silent for the longest time. "Is this true?"

The boy opened his scarlet eyes, surveying to room until he met Gold's. The younger boy stared at him desperately, praying he would tell the truth. Red shut them once again, lifting his head.

"I didn't see anything." He responded.

The four trainers fell off their chairs in surprise.

"What?!" They all gasped at once.

Before anyone could say anything more, the noise of many footsteps exploded into the room, signaling the arrival of the other team. Leaf was the Cheren was the first to arrive, a dissatisfied frown set upon his lips.

"How'd it go?" White asked him casually.

He sighed, pausing to wipe his glasses. "Fine." He murmered. "Could have been more interesting."

"Look what we found!" Leaf cried as she burst into the room.

In her hands was problably the creepiest doll history has ever seen. Most of it's hair had been torn out, leaving it with only a few small black patches here and there. It's eyes, a dark crimson colour, were cracked and lazy, falling in random directions depending on how you held it. It was dressed in a dull grey gown, pins poking out the back of it and red stains splashed all over. The entire thing seemed to be made out of an old china glass, broken in some areas.

"That's..." Lyra started.

"Just..." Lucas added.

"Wrong." Barry finished. "What the heck happened to it?"

Leaf hugged it it protectively. "I think it's cute."

Brendan started choking on something.

"Cute?" He gasped.

"Apparently." Gary shrugged as he walked in.

Wally and May were the last to arrive, keeping a fair distance away from the doll as they took their seats.

"Hey," Black begain, desperate to get off the subject of dolls. "Where's Silver?"

Cheren looked around. "Wasn't he here with you?"

The other team shook their heads.

"What about Dawn?" Lucas looked a little panicked. "Where's she?"

"Over here." Her voice rang out softly from the doorway.

Emerging from the shadows, the others could see she had something white grasped between her hands. Dawn was studying it nervously.

"What'cha got there?" Barry asked.

She held up the object for them all to see. It was an envelop with the words: "Tomorrows challenge" on the front, written in bold.

She sat down between Lucas and White. "It's instructions for the one on one battles that are going to be taking place tomorrow." Dawn explained. "Like who'll be battling who."

"Who?! Who?!" Gold was practically jumping with exitment, the whole 'ghost' thing temporarily forgotten.

The blue-ish haired girl breathed deeply before beginning.

"First battle will be Cheren vs. Lyra."

Lyra smiled at the idea while Cheren nodded his approval.

"Next is Me vs. Brendan."

Brendan made a noise that resembled a goat chocking on a Lawn mower.

"And finally Gold vs..." She trailed off.

'Me?' The youngest trainer thought in shock. "Me vs. who?"

Dawn swallowed before finishing.

"Red."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

**Sorry if this chapter wasn't it's best, I was trying to draw more attention to the characters that had been more in the background for most the series (notably Leaf and Silver.) **

**And trust me, it's hard writing for 15 characters at once. **

**I'd like to give a HUGE thank you to Anon and Mr. Uknown for reviewing both the previous chapters. Thank you both for your comments and constructive critisizm, it means a lot. **

**Thanks for reading! **

**~*Galefire* **


	4. Chapter 4: Misunderstanding

**I... Don't really have anything to put here... **

**Huh. **

**Note: **

**"Food monkeys": Talking.**

**'Food monkeys': Thinking.**

**Disclaimer: *Sigh* I don't own Pokemon or any of the following characters. **

**None.**

A chilling silence fell through the room as the name was read out, and all eyes turned to Gold. The black haired trainer himself was stunned. Him? Against Red? Even the idea of it made him shiver.

The others started to whisper, and although Gold couldn't quite make out what they were saying, he knew they were doubtful.

'Then show them you can handle this.' He told himself silently.

"Awesome!" He called with a plastered on smile. "I- I was hoping I'd get to battle him!"

Red cast him a glance from underneath his hat, but said nothing.

"Is this even fair?" Lucas questioned. "I mean, there's a rather large amount of age deviation between the two."

Lyra shrugged. "San never said anything about this."

"Let's go complain!" Barry called out. "I want to battle Red!"

"Hey, if anybody's fighting him, it's me!" White remarked, pushing past him.

The blonde trainer snorted. "You'd get destroyed."

"Yeah, says who?"

"Says science! Lucas, say something smart to prove her wrong!"

The blue-ish haired boy thought for a moment. "Well, the diversity between ages can consequence the over-all performance of one being due to disarranged levels of experience."

Despite the fact he had no idea what Lucas had just said, Barry gave the girl a sly look. "See, I win!"

"But I'd also like to add that there would be no variation of the assumed results between the two of you, considering the fact, from what I hear, you are the same age." Lucas crossed his arms and glared at his friend.

"Who's the smart one now?" White returned the look.

From the other side of the room, Lyra held up her hands, sighing in exasperation.

"Stop it, you two. Mr. Rohna decided that Gold'll be fighting Red, and so there's nothing we can do about it. However," The girl gave them a cold, brown eyed glare. "If you want to go talk to him about it, then you're free to walk out the door."

White and Barry were silent. After a moments consideration, the two exchanged rude glances before turning their backs on each other and sitting down on either sides of the room.

"Thank you. Now we can turn our attention to more the important matters at hand."

"Like what?" Wally asked.

"Like who'll be sharing sleeping quarters." She told them.

May rolled her eyes. "That's easy. Each region's trainers all share one with each other."

Lyra shook her head. "I'm afraid that won't work. From what I heard, two of the rooms have four beds, two of them have three and the last only has one."

The brunette's face fell. "Oh."

"Besides, it's better we get to know each other, we are going to be spending quiet a while together." Dawn commented, looking up from grooming her Pokemon.

Cheren blinked thoughtfully. "Since there are five regions, and five bedrooms, we should start by giving each room one trainer from said area."

"That's not a bad idea..." The brown haired girl trailed off.

"Whatever room I get, I don't want Barry in it." White scoffed.

"I second that." The blonde trainer agreed.

Lucas rolled his eyes with a sigh.

"I could take one of the three bed ones." Dawn volunteered.

Leaf spoke up. "I'm fine with a four bed room."

"Then I'll take one with four beds." Cheren nodded.

Lyra rubbed her chin, eyes lost in thought. "Someone's going to have to sleep alone..."

Her dark brown surveyed the room, looking for a potential candidate. The other two Hoenn quickly shook their heads when her gaze fell on Brendan, apparently the idea of being woken up in the middle of the night from him screaming about something didn't appeal to them.

'This isn't an easy decision.' The girl thought with a frown. 'I barely know any of these people. But...' Lyra pursed her lips as she caught sight of Red. The tall, black haired trainer hadn't moved since he had arrived, his expression stolic and unreadable. 'Perfect.'

"Red?"

Red cast her a glance, crimson eyes dark.

Lyra swallowed. That look gave her shivers down her spine. "Would you be alright with staying by yourself?"

The oldest trainer closed his scarlet orbs, considering her offer, before nodded slowly.

After that was settled, it didn't take long for the remaining trainers to divide themselves among the several areas. Dawn, Wally and Gary would be occupying one room, Leaf, Silver and White another, Cheren, Lucas, May and Lyra took up one of the two four bed ones, and Black, Brendan, Gold and Barry had the last room.

It didn't take a genius the foresee the problems this could cause.

"Wait!" Dawn called to the others, who had started to make their way over to their designated areas. "For the competition, the letter says we all need to be up and ready by three."

Barry scoffed. "Three P.M? I can do that. "

"Three A.M." The girl corrected.

The room fell still.

"What?!" He exclaimed, looking dumbfounded.

Lucas groaned in exasperation. "Great, now I have to wake up a two thirty in the morning!"

Leaf raised an eyebrow. "Why, exactly?"

"To wake HIM up," The blue haired trainer nodded towards his friend.

Lyra shut her eyes in annoyance as the two started to argue. This was going to be a LONG tournament.

Lyra sat down onto her bed with a sigh. She was adorned in her dark blue pajamas, her medium tone brown hair let loose for once. Beside her, Cheren and May had already dozed off, Lucas looking ready to as well at any moment.

The room was completely silent, not that this was unwelcome to the exhausted trainer. In fact, she enjoyed it. It gave her time to think.

'Today's been a long day," Lyra told herself, rolling over to get more comfortable. 'A new competition, some kind of teleportation magic, a mansion and on top of that, apparently ghosts.'

The very idea of the area possibly being haunted caused the brunette to let out another long breath.

'Gold's always had a hyperactive imagination.' She thought. "But the others seeing it too? And what about Brendan's injuries? They seemed to be too serious to just be part of some stupid prank...'

Lyra blinked thoughtfully. Despite what the boys had said, none of them had been able to give a straight answer to what the supposed 'spirt' looked like.

After being assigned to their sleeping quarters, the brown haired trainer had took it upon herself to inquire the apprence of what the four had seen. However, despite her efforts, no one could give her what she was looking for.

When Lyra had asked Black, the boy just exchanged nervous glances with his Pokemon, then got Oshawott to explain... With odvious results. Barry had only smirked and told her that it looked like Dawn a couple of years from now, and had been unable to say any more due to several jaw injures...

Courtesy of Lucas.

After that, Lyra had decided to ask Brendan. The white haired boy had started to answer, telling her it had shoulder length light grey hair, but the rest of what he said had just become a jumble of inaudible murmers and terrified noises. And Gold was...

Well, Gold was mad. He refused talk to her, or even answer any of the questions she asked, problably still steamed about the fact she hadn't directly said she believed them.

'He'll get over it. He always does.'

Lyra smiled as she felt most of the worries that had been floating in her subconsciousness finally come to rest. However, one thing still bothered her.

Red.

The black haired trainer had been out there when the incident occurred, yet at the same time, he claimed he hadn't seen a thing.

The girls expression grew worried. It didn't add up.

It was true, she didn't know much, or really anything for that matter, about him. But Lyra could tell that he wasn't the kind of person who would just let others lie like that, especially if ones life was potentially on the line. So why...?

Cold realization hit the girl, squeezing her heart like claws of ice.

They weren't lying!

"Barry, get your crap off my side!" Gold grumbled, pushing the trainer's bag away with one foot.

The blonde haired trainer snatched it up, expression angry. "My crap is not crap!" He protested.

"I don't care. Just keep it away from me."

"Guy, stop arguing." Black sighed from across the room. "We don't have time for that right now."

It was true. Once the four male trainer's had entered the room, an all-out pillow fight had started, messing up anything and everything in sight. Following that, there was a big discussion on who had won, which ultimately ended in disaster. Because of this, the four were extremely late getting their stuff unpacked an everything ready, as everybody else in the mansion was already asleep.

Gold rolled his eyes and proceed to aimlessly stuff all his belongings into a nearby nightstand. Barry had refused to even try to be organized and ended up just shoving everything he owned beneath his bed. His Chimchar clearly disapproved of this and imidiantly set to work correcting his trainer's mistakes.

The others got the idea this wasn't a one time thing.

"Hey guys," Brendan spoke up. "Don't you think it's weird that we were all put in a room together?"

The white haired trainer had been the only one not to participate in the epic war of pillows that had occurred just a while ago, so he had started his progress much earlier than the others. However, his disability to move his right arm made things awkward and difficult, so process had been slow.

"You're right," Barry agreed with a frown. "There aren't any girls in here."

The boy used his good hand to face-palm. "No! I mean we're the only ones that saw the ghost!"

"Oh."

Black considered the thought. "Now that you mention it, that does seem odd..."

"Osha! Oshawott!" The Pokemon growled.

"I-I think they're trying to seperate us ." Brendan whispered, eyes worried.

"Seperate us!" Gold spat angerly. "But we didn't DO anything!"

An awkward pause met his words.

"... Did we?"

The other three exchanged nervous glances.

"Well, none of the others really belived us." Black muttered, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"How could they not belive us?! Look at this!" Barry exclaimed, grabbing onto Brendan's bad arm and hoisting it into the air.

The white haired boy let out a choked whimper, fighting not to scream as his eyes watered painfully.

"What Red told them defiantly didn't help." Gold scowled at the memory.

"It's why he said that that has me curious," Black admitted. "I mean seriously, he was right there!"

"He must have had some reason!" Brendan pointed out. "Perhaps he just wanted us to focus on the compition?"

"No, that's not it." Gold shook his head, much to everyone's surprise.

"And how do YOU know that?" Barry questioned, looking suspicious.

The black haired boy slammed his pillow onto the covers, causing his Cyndaquil to jump at the sudden action.

"It's not important. Good night." His voice was strangely calm.

The other three looked at each other in shock. Black shrugged, shaking his head in confusion.

"Bipolar much?" The blonde trainer muttered under his breath.

However, even as the other trainers attempted to shake it off, something about Gold's sudden outburst bothered them.

It bothered them a lot.

Gold awoke with a start, dark amber eyes flying open at record speeds. His breathing was heavy, heartbeat fast as a cold sweat gathered upon the boy's forehead. Looking around the dark room desperately, he forced himself to calm down.

'It's alright.' The young trainer told himself. 'There's nothing here. You're safe.'

He absentmindedly reached out for the spot where Cyndaquil was snoozing, his shaking hand resting on the creature's warm back. It's slow, even breaths lowered his anxiety levels, but even the support of his partner couldn't stop the images of the nightmare from flashing before Gold's eyes.

The youngest trainer cast a glance around him. All his roommates were sound asleep, their Pokemon as well, undisturbed by a plagued vision of any sort.

This came as a surprise to Gold. He'd expected at least Brendan to be suffering from some kind of midnight- terror, by there he was, sleeping like a log.

The amber eyed boy breathed a long, shaky sigh. Careful not to disturb the resting Cyndaquil, he slowly removed the thick blanket that had covered him only moments ago. He silently planted his feet onto the chilled stone floor, wobbling a bit from his tired limbs.

'I need sometime to think.' Gold decided as he quietly made his way towards the door.

Heart in mouth, the black haired boy grasped the doorknob, and slid outside.

Relief flooded through him at the fact he had managed to get out of there without waking any of the others. The idea of disturbing Barry sent shivers down his spine. Heck, after the whole incident with the scarf, Gold didn't even trust Brendan not to tear him apart.

He took a seat by the well painted red wall. The air was cold, freezing actually. But the trainer took no notice. There was too much to think about.

"Me against Red..." Gold thought with a soft groan. He had been repeating those words in his head ever since it had been announced. Something about the idea made his heart race, and not in the good way.

'Why?' He asked himself. 'Why me? Judging by what he said about the Charizard just earlier, Red's problably the strongest of us all.'

The young boy buried his face in his hands. For the first time ever, he was unconfident with his skills. In fact, Gold was almost convinced he would lose.

"It's hopeless." He muttered.

A quiet 'creak' grabbed the trainer's attention. Down the hall to his left, a door was slowly being opened.

Gold's breath caught in his throat. That was Red's room! What was he doing now?

The older trainer stepped gingerly out of the entrance, his red eyes searching the room for any potential witnesses. Gold pulled his legs in closer in an attempted to make his self smaller, edging towards a shadow all the while.

Just as he was sure Red was going to spot him, the crimson gaze fell still and rested upon an object his hand. Gold peered closer. It appeared to be a cellphone.

The boy's suspicions were confirmed when the other black haired trainer swiftly dialed a number, one foot tapping restlessly. Red brought the phone up to his ear, breathing heavily. Even in the dark, it was clear he was shaking.

Gold blinked in confusion.

'What has him so nervous?' He wondered.

His train of though was cut off however when Red spoke for the first time.

"Mom?" The older trainer whispered, voice unsteady.

Murmurs could be heard coming from the machine, but to the listening boy, they were inaudible.

Red spoke again, even more anxiously. "Is there any... News?"

Gold watched in awe as the older trainer closed his eyes sadly, shoulders slumping a tad, as the indescribable answer came from the other end.

"O-oh."

'Something really bad must have happened!' The thought exploded into the young black haired trainers head. 'But what? What could make _Red_ this upset?"

From across the room, crimson eyes snapped open again, narrowed and fierce, not with anger, put with pure determination.

"I'm not giving up!" The older boy exclaimed quietly, his free hand curling up into a ball. "He's my brother! He still has time..." He trailed off for a moment before finishing. "Alright, thanks Mom. Bye."

Red lowered the phone with a broken -hearted sigh. His hat fell over his eyes, shading over most his face.

"I really thought..."

"Really thought what?" Gold couldn't help but ask aloud, before swiftly covering his mouth with both hands.

But the deed had been done. Red froze in shock as he heard the younger trainer speak. His scarlet eyes turned to meet Gold's amber ones, locking on with unreadable emotion.

The two sat in silence for a moment, staring at each other in surprise.

The seconds seemed to drag on, and Gold felt himself becoming restless, even fearful. He knew he had done something wrong, but how wrong? The black haired boy almost didn't want an answer.

"I suppose you heard that." Red spoke at last, gaze unwavering.

Gold nodded slowly, too chocked to speak.

The older boy let out a long breath before asking: "Do you know what it's like to lose someone close to you, but at the same time they're still really there?"

Gold thought for a moment.

"Well, no. Not exactly." He decided.

Red didn't press, only turned his back on the other boy.

"Remember the simple things in life." He told him, walking back towards his bedroom. "It wont be long until you'll miss them more than ever."

Gold's face was pale as Red disappeared behind the entrance.

Without sound nor a thought, the youngest boy got up from where he was sitting, dusted himself off, then opened the the door to get into his room.

'Maybe.' He thought as he stepped into the room, 'There's more to Red then any of us ever suspected."

**Pretty boring chapter, I know, but the next one will be MUCH more exiting. Because there's going to be... **

**... Wait for it...**

**Pokemon battles! Yay! **

**Moving on, I would once again like to thank all the support I've gotten from both my reviewers! You guys are awesome! **

**I'd also like to thank my Dictionary and Thesaurus for helping with Lucas' dialogue. **

**Seriously. **

**Thank you all SO much for reading, and if you could leave a review that would be VERY much appreciated. **

**~*Galefire***

**PS: sorry for the semi-late update. **


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